


Following the Light

by MaulIsLife



Series: Journey through the Force [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Beginning is SFW, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gets freaky much later though, Grey Jedi, Implied/Referenced Torture, Journey from youngling to Master, M/M, Mild Smut, New Species, Romance (duh), Scars, Slavery, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Torture, Underage - Freeform, War, both jedi and clones, lightsaber construction, more tags will be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:07:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaulIsLife/pseuds/MaulIsLife
Summary: Set during the prequels and clone wars, follow Ki-Tai Nati and her brother through their journey from younglings to Masters in the Jedi Order.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Original Female Character(s), CC-3636 | Wolffe/Original Female Character(s), CT-27-5555 | Fives/Original Female Character(s), CT-7567 | Rex/Original Female Character(s), Darth Maul/Original Female Character(s), Kit Fisto/Original Female Character(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi/Original Female Character(s), Original Clone Trooper Character(s)/Original Jedi Character(s)
Series: Journey through the Force [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781668
Kudos: 9





	1. Introduction

Welcome to my newest work, Following the Light, is the first in a three part fanfiction based in the Star Wars universe.

Following the Light covers the prequels -this includes all movies, the space in between, the Clone Wars, and a few of the books.

Holding the Light covers everything during the empire's reign: Rogue One, Rebels, and the Original Trilogy

*May be adjusted accordingly as the Obi-Wan and Ahsoka series comes out*

Saving the Light will cover just the sequel series.

There will also be a few references thrown in from the Old Republic, mainly for backstory.

Things that will not be in this series: the games, Resistance, and the Solo story.

The first few chapters of Following the Light are backstory, though helpful, are not entirely required to read. A note will be put in when the story reaches the beginning of the prequels.

Warning: this is not going to be Rebels style. There will be violence, death, and adult themes.

I would ask that only adults read, but that is not a reality, so just be aware of what you are getting yourself into.

There will also be a heavy serving of sadism, abuse, and unhealthy relationship styles. I do not condone such things, but they are real and a part of a realistic story-line.

That being said, I will have blatant warnings before any such scene, do know that they are a part of the plot and not just there for any one's fetish, but they will be referenced in the future so the actual scene can be skipped.

also, if you like short chapters, well, my chapters do not go below 1900 words -roughly 3 pages- so you have been warned.

Know that not everything will be dark, because the Force requires balance.

I am going to 'save' and couple characters killed off -not if their death was instrumental, though.

I am going to bend some of the 'rules' superimposed.

Note: if you do not like the Grey Jedi -although technically a part of the lore- then be warned: they are a go-to for the race I created, which brings me to another point.

Instead of potentially messing up the facts or breaking more rules about certain races -although I will still have characters of other species- I have made up a race for this series.

My new species:

The Fae of planet Liathil, a hidden planet nearly destroyed by the war between the Jedi and Sith Empire during the Old Republic.

Like Bardotta, the Fae have a natural connection with the Force -but not all are strong enough to be Force-users.

Also like Bardotta, they do not trust the Jedi or Sith for past misdeeds, there have only been a few Fae Jedi.

They have a Monarchy with a council and a standing army.

Fae are marked along different parts of their bodies.

Males have markings along their chests, while Females have them practically everywhere else.

When they are Mated -see adult themes warning- the markings imprint on each other, marking them for life and binding them in the Force. Other races are compatible, most notably their neighboring planet Glee Anselm, home to Nautolans. Markings are still transferred, but none are received by the Fae part of the relationship.

See: same-sex mates still recieve each others markings, though they can overlap.

Fae are a species that cannot get cold, their blood is molten crystal and can begin to solidify under such conditions.

Female Fae go through a process called the Cooling three times a year, sending them essentially into mating heat, although they become dangerously cold as their bodies need another's body heat. The Cooling cannot kill, but it is uncomfortable for an unmated female and also a vulnerable time where they could be taken advantage of. The Cooling is the only time a female can conceive, it also creates the strongest and most unbreakable -see being taken advantage of- bonds.

Some blood lines of female Fae were infused early on with their planet's natural radiation, amplifying the energy into power through the crystal in their blood, and subsequently were stronger. During the first cooling of a female Fae's life, this power surge would be revealed and affect their physical body, changing their eye color to purple, the color of their blood. These females are known as Banshees.

Fae are strong warriors that once warred with the Mandalorians before the Sith and Jedi brought war to their system, cutting their numbers down significantly and forcing the Fae to hide themselves away from the galaxy.

They have no part in any of the galaxy, keeping to themselves and only trading with the Nautolans of Glee Anselm, who subsequently provide passage for Fae that want to leave Liathil.


	2. Rescue on Ryloth

Two tiny figures climbed out of the wreckage of a still burning ship, a person still trapped inside, but the servant that had saved them was too far gone, blood pooling in her collar. Hand in hand, the escaped children scrambled for safety, appearance far too alien to go unnoticed in a crowd. One of the kids, a young girl, looked back quickly, but her fears were confirmed as her blue eyes widened: the lady, they had called her Nika -a word in their language for friend, had saved them from an evil man. He was beyond evil, although they never saw his face, just a purple hood with a silhouette of a man. They were supposed to be trained by him -at least that was what the protocol droid had translated for them- but until they were old enough, they were his slaves, chained together no matter what room they were in. Whenever they misbehaved, made a mistake, or didn’t follow a lesson, they were hurt, the other servants forced to torture the children. There was another, a boy about their age, but he was not like them, he had red skin and horns like a crown upon his head, and he was the Master’s chosen one. Maybe because of this, he had free roam, although he always chose to stay and talk to them, but he was completely loyal and wanted to be like the evil man. The young girl had wanted to let him come with them, but her brother had wisely talked them out of it, so he was left far behind as they escaped the Master’s compound.   
The children still do not know why the servant girl had saved them, she spoke the language the others spoke, but she had just scooped them up one day, with one of the Master’s weapons -the droid called them lightsabers- she had stolen from his study. The red glow of the weapon’s blade cut through their chains like nothing, and she had thrown the lightsaber away as they ran off the compound and through fields and harsh plants before coming to a transport ship. The three had taken to the stars, going as far as they could before a malfunction occurred and sent them spiraling down to a planet unknown to the children.   
Now, clutching at their fresh wounds drizzling purple blood down onto the ground, the girl and her brother climbed over the crater that the crash had made to find the planet’s natives bearing down on them, riding great animals as they stopped before them. Gasping slightly, they noticed that they were the same as Nika, the same people that were, with two tail like appendages coming from their heads instead of hair, and beautiful eyes full of surprise. They tried speaking that same language -Basic the droid had called it- but the kids could only shake their heads, babbling in their own language to try and make the people understand that...well, they couldn’t. One of them, a light orange coloured man, jumped off his animal, kneeling down slowly to their level and holding out his hands. He seemed nice, but they had been taken by a nice man before -and look what he had done to them. However, their resolve crumbled as the ship exploded behind them and the kids cowered behind the man, allowing the people to take them on the animals to what they hoped was a safe place.  
Getting to the people’s home was quick, not surprising for as fast as they were found, and the children looked around in wonder at the town surrounding them, other kids were running around and adults hung around the building, watching their children or talking amongst themselves. It was far different from their own planet, but the young girl still felt safe, returning the man’s smile slowly when he looked at them as if to make sure they weren’t scared anymore. The other’s quickly caught sight of them and pushed their children back inside, a fact that took her smile away, but then again, it may be because they did crash land near their home. They talked for a long time while the twin brother and sister held hands; as long as they didn’t have to go back to the evil man, they didn’t care where they ended up. However, they were quickly pulled apart as one of the females picked her up and carried her away from her brother, leaving the girl crying as she tried to get back to him. The lady sat her down inside one of the houses, pulling out some water and a rag, setting to work on the little girl’s wounds. She tried to stay quiet, she did, but the girl couldn’t help the little whimpers in pain as the woman cleaned off the dirt from her skin. She tried to say ‘thank you’ but the lady didn’t understand, and all the girl could do was think to herself. Hopefully, her brother was just being cleaned too, they didn’t have anyone else. All of this had started out as a plan to keep their family safe, her brother in exchange for keeping their planet out of harm's way, but the man changed the deal: he wanted both of them, and when they tried to refuse, he took them anyways, cutting them down with his bright and angry red lightsabers right in front of the children. That was how they ended up at his compound, and in this very mess.  
After she was done cleaning her skin, the lady made her put on some new clothes -her uniform from before was shredded and nasty anyways. The little girl hugged the lady, hoping she would know she was thankful for them, before she was led back outside. This time, a new person was waiting for them, and he looked more like most of the servants from the compound. He had black hair pulled up into a small bun and strange clothes that looked like nothing any of her people, nor the people on this planet wore, but the next thing her eyes saw was familiar and brought back pain and tears. There were lightsabers at his belt. The young girl screamed and tried to run back into the building, but the lady scooped her up into her arms, trying to calm the crying girl. This obviously got the man’s attention, and he backed up in shock at the children crying, for the man from before had brought her brother out too. The woman holding her turned so that she was in between them, a glare fixed on the man. He frantically said something, and the woman looked at the others, whispering in their language before setting the girl down, and taking both children in hand before steering them inside. The young girl knew they didn’t understand what was going on, so she lifted up the shirt quickly, showing the woman her cuts and scars all in various stages of healing. Her face contorted in anger and she pointed at the wounds before at the man, as if to ask if he had been the one to hurt them. She shook her head, trying to gesture to his weapon -although the Master who hurt them had two- and making the noise she had heard them make when turned on. The nice lady nodded slowly, looking between them before pointing to the ground, pushing them down gently so they would sit before she made her way back out. The children stood up on the tip of their toes to see out the window as the woman began gesturing to her arms and body, possibly describing what the girl had shown her, before she pointed at the new man’s weapon. He took it off his belt, but he looked scared or maybe didn’t know what she was describing. Much to the little girl’s surprise, he handed it over to the woman, turning away to hold out a circular device. The lady didn’t look happy to be holding his weapon, but she put it in a bag on one of the animals and looked towards the house, smiling at the children peeking over the edge. Figures appeared on the circular device and the children realized it was like the device their parent’s had used to contact the Master, except the evil man wasn’t in the hologram. There was a little green man with long ears looking back at him, and by his side was a dark-skinned male from the species that the new man was from. They talked for a moment before the lady joined, having retrieved the lightsaber once again.   
Once they were done with whatever needed to be said, the man put away the device and turned to the woman, pointing back at the children. He didn’t seem so scary, but then again, he had one of the bad weapons. When he started walking towards them, the little girl scrunched up her face, fighting back tears and despite her brother’s tugging, she ran out of the house and stopped just right in front of the man, fists clenched as she stared up at him. Then, just like the evil man had taught her, she pushed at the air, using what he had called the ‘force’ to push the new man away. He yelped loudly and fell down, looking up at her with a startled face while the people surrounding them started laughing. However, the man seemed to realize something, because he got pulled out that device once more and, very slowly, walked to her, kneeling down a few steps away before fiddling with the device. All of a sudden, a new figure showed up, but it was just a picture, the figure wasn’t moving. “Nika!” The little girl cried.  
How did he know Nika? She called to her brother, pointing at the picture and he hesitantly ran to her side. Was this man a friend of Nika, but he had a lightsaber? The new man held out his lightsaber to them, having been given it back. The little girl held it for a moment, it didn’t feel like the Master’s. Handing it back, she looked at him with her head tilted: why was he there? Was he supposed to be helping them? Putting the weapon back on his belt, the man pointed at the picture. “Nika.” He said.  
He held out his hands, looking around, and the girl understood: where was Nika? She shook her head and her brother started crying beside her, now he knew. The man put a fist to his mouth, watching them in silence before standing back up and speaking to the nice lady again. She also knelt before them, one hand on the girl, one on the boy, before she pushed them to the man. Was he going to be taking them home? The man pointed at himself. “Sifo,” he whispered.  
His name, the Master never gave them his name. The girl mimicked his point, “Ki-Tai.”  
Her brother followed, “Ki-Lan.”  
Then, he started leading them away, the children encouraged to follow by the nice lady and the man that found them. He brought them to a ship just at the edge of the city, it was larger than the one Nika had taken them in, but it wasn’t scary, just different. He put them into seats and began to fly them off the planet, and the girl was not happy to once again enter space.  
Where could they possibly be going now?


	3. You Must Choose

Although her brother had fallen asleep on their journey through space, Ki-Tai had not, she had watched the man, Sifo, as he piloted the flight, eventually taking it into the same blue tunnel like thing that Nika had done before. Once more, he talked to those same strange people, who she realized also had lightsabers. Eventually, they came out of that blue thing, arriving at yet another planet. This time, the girl could see lights and other ships: wherever they were going had a lot of people. As she woke up her brother, Ki-Tai missed where they were going, jumping slightly as the ship touched down and the man turned off the ship, holding out his hands to them. Now, she didn’t know who he was still, but he was the only one she was familiar with on this planet, so the children allowed him to lead them off the ship and into a beautiful courtyard, where masked figures with lightsabers -although different- stood as if watching them. But the man passed them all, leading them inside of the building at the other end and down hallways, twisting and turning before the girl gave up trying to remember how they came in. As they stopped in front of somewhere, the door hissed open and inside were the people the man had been talking to. They stopped what they were doing, closed the map open, and looked at the children. The green man, who was smaller than them, smiled and said something, and before Ki-Tai could shake her head, Sifo spoke up, hopefully explaining they couldn't understand. She took to looking around the room as they spoke, unable to understand anyways, when -just visible out of the corner of her eye- other people came walking down the hallway, one of them green. All she could spot was many tentacle-like tails from their head, but she knew what that was. Smiling big, the girl ran out of the room, faster than the man as he tried to grab her, and she sprinted to her target, tugging on the person’s arm so they would stop.

For Padawan Kit Fisto, he thought that he would be starting out his day answering his Master’s summons from the archives, not being tugged around by a youngling. He pushed off her arm, only to stop as he caught sight of the barely visible markings on her pale skin -which was littered with bruises, a sight that made his insides twist. He knew her species, but what was she doing here? At the temple? “Friend,” she smiled, and the padawan sensed relief.  
Most Fae didn’t know any Basic, so how she had gotten as far as here was the will of the Force. “Hi, friend,” he said, beaming at the youngling.   
Just then, however, Masters Yoda, Windu, and Sifo-Dyas came around the corner, another Fae youngling in tow. What was going on? The young Jedi thought. “Please, help,” she said, pulling him towards them.  
“Padawan,” Sifo-Dyas asked, “you can understand her?”  
Fisto looked between the girl and the Master before he finally found the words he was looking for. “Yes, Masters, she is a Fae.”  
“We surmised as much,” Master Windu said, and Kit felt the tips of his head-tresses heat in embarrassment.  
“Oh, uh, Fae and Nautolans trade a lot, our languages are very similar. I can translate,” he offered.  
They accepted, somewhat reluctantly, and they all went back into the command room. “Sifo-Dyas went to Ryloth to collect them from a contact, who had claimed they were force-sensitive -although she wouldn’t explain why he couldn’t meet them directly. Now, it appears obvious they were captives of someone, can you ask them who?”  
Once translated, the two Fae shared a quick look, before the girl pointed at the lightsaber Kit had. “An evil man made us slaves, he had two of those.”  
Eyes wide, the Nautolan relayed this information to the waiting Masters, who did not seem at all happy to hear it, not that he expected them to be. Suddenly, the boy whispered into the girl’s ear, and she pointed at Kit’s lightsaber, miming for him to turn it on. When he did, she took a step back, narrowed eyes on the green hue. “The man had red ones,” she told him, not coming back until he put it back at his side.   
Red was the color of the Sith. “Are you sure?” He asked, ignoring how Master Windu demanded to know what she had said.  
After a moment’s pause, the girl nodded, lifting the sleeve of her tunic to reveal a burn like scar just past her elbow. Had a lightsaber done that to her? “Padawan, speak,” Windu demanded, and the Nautolan nodded quickly.  
“She said…” he blinked, “the ‘evil man’ had red ones.”  
Masters Windu and Yoda shared a long look. “An imposter, or have our enemies returned?” Windu mused, quite possibly to himself.  
Yoda rapped his gimer stick quickly, “Time, all will be revealed. Fate of these younglings must we decide,” the grandmaster stated.  
“Well, I can speak for the girl’s, Ki-Tai’s, connection to the Force -first hand unfortunately- and since they are twins-” Sifo-Dyas started.  
“Share the same connection, they do,” Yoda nodded, “Padawan, translate you must, for our protocol droid seems lost.”  
“Ask them about their family, their caretaker could not figure out much, and how they became in the,” Sifo-Dyas dropped a hand in defeat, “how the ‘evil’ man got them.”  
“Yes, Masters.”  
Kit looked at Ki-Tai and met her curious gaze. “How did this all happen, little friend, how did the man get you from Liathil?”  
She looked down at her feet, the light glinting off of barely visible purple markings just growing onto her skin. All Fae had markings, but from what he had been told, they didn’t come in until they were older, around his age. They were signs of experience, and his mind tried to gloss over that as her brother began speaking in her silence. “The Master did bad things, mother and father had no choice, but it was supposed to be only me! He was evil, lied to them and took Tai and me. He...he,” the boy stopped, scrunching up his face and fists in anger.  
“Lan stop,” Ki-Tai whispered, using her tiny hands to unclench his, “don’t listen.”  
Then, the little girl looked up at Fisto, her eyes dry as a desert. “The Master killed our family, cut them in front of me. Then, we went to space, I don't know where.”  
Fisto felt her sadness, felt her pain, through his pheromone seekers, but she didn’t show any of it, just quiet, reserved words. “I think their parents tried to strike a deal with the ‘Master’, the boy-”  
“Ki-Lan,” Sifo-Dyas offered.  
“Yes Master,” Fisto bowed his head, “Ki-Lan, was supposed to be their bargaining chip. This man wanted whatever makes them special, but he betrayed their parents and took both younglings, then, I don’t know if he did it just because or if they tried to interfere, the man killed their family where they stood and took them.”  
“Why did they agree to Ki-lan, but not Ki-Tai, they are twins...what could be different about them?” Master Windu asked, pointing at both of them when mentioned.  
The little girl looked between Kit and Windu, before she stepped closer, pulling back her hair to reveal a dark purple string of markings along her neck. At how they leaned in to see, she softly muttered a word that Kit had to do a mental double-take for his mind to actually agree it was what he heard. “She said, Gji, it means ‘special’ in my native language. They don’t really have a Basic equivalent of the word, but it would mean something roughly like...uh...leader, ruler, or-”  
“Queen,” Yoda sighed, “given through the Force, her meaning is. Rule, her fate was, but clouded by the dark side, their paths are now. Carefully, we must move.”  
Ki-Tai shied back to Fisto’s side, and the Padawan gave the Masters a sheepish smile. “You don’t want me to translate that right?”  
His humor went unappreciated by all but Master Yoda, who simply shook his head in amusement, his long green ears wiggling. “Are we going to test them, or send them home?” Sifo-Dyas asked.  
“Let them decide, we will. Only their choice, can the future be clear.”  
“Padawan, take them into the hall and let them decide,” Master Windu ordered, and the Nautolan was quick to obey, gently pulling the two younglings out of the command.  
They could have been asked inside, but Kit knew the masters wanted to talk in private. He himself wasn’t sure if taking these two from their planet was a good idea, the Fae didn’t really like the Jedi, but it wasn’t his place to decide, and instead sat them down across the hall, smiling despite himself at the other Jedi who passed. Both looked at him in confusion before he showed them his padawan beads that hung from one of the straps around a head-tress. “Do you know what I am?”  
“Friend,” Ki-Tai giggled, obviously finding it amusing he was asking such an obvious question.  
“Yes,” He laughed, “but I am also a Jedi, a Padawan learner.”  
“What is a Jedi?”  
The Padawan picked up his lightsaber, shiny and silver with small black bands. When he was a youngling and constructing the instrument, the metal had felt cold, but once his Kyber crystal was added, warmth had flown through it. The Force residing inside of him extended to his lightsaber, acting as a part of him always. Then, Kit used the Force to hover it in his palm. “A Jedi is a wielder of the light side of the Force, a peacekeeper, bound by a duty to serve the light.”  
He hung the lightsaber back at his side and beamed at the children, “We are protectors of life.”  
“The evil man-” Ki-Tai protested, but Kit Fisto tapped her forehead.  
“Was not a Jedi. Red is the color of the Dark side; of the Sith. They seek to destroy what we are sworn to protect.”  
“Now,” he starts, looking between the twins, “You have a choice: join our Order, use the power given to you by the Force for the light, or you can return home and fulfil the roles given to you by your people. Our path is not easy, and it is not safe, so you must think. No one can decide your future. Ki-Tai, Ki-Lan, you must choose.”  
How could he ask two younglings barely older than he was when he was brought to the temple to decide something like this? His parents had agreed, but he had not been given a say. He was too young, although now that he was older he would choose to be a Jedi, that was not how things worked. Ki-Tai and Ki-Lan nodded to each other, and Kit wondered what conversation their eyes were sharing, but they told him soon enough. “No family,” Ki-Tai said, “We want to be Jedi.”  
As was expected, and the Padawan smiled brightly, “Well then let’s go tell the Masters.”  
Leading them hand in hand, Kit Fisto walked them back into the command room, where Master Yoda was already smiling at them. The Padawan barely restrained a sigh: of course the Grandmaster knew. He always knew. “Choose the order they did, hmm?” Yoda asked.  
“Yes, my Masters.”  
“Very well, it is time to test them, and I think I have an idea,” Master Windu smiled slyly.  
As he followed them to the council chambers where the council members were to test the younglings, Ki-tai squeezed his hand gently. “The green man is nice,” she said, forcing the Nautolan to cough to restrain the laughter gurgling in his throat.

Sitting in their cushioned chairs, Master Yoda eyed each Jedi that took their seat, only two were missing, each on their respective missions beyond Coruscant. They had instructed the young padawan Fisto to instruct them to draw what they felt through the Force on the parchment provided. Ki-Tai was the first one, and as the little girl sat there, her face blank, Yoda finally felt the full force of well...the Force that surrounded her. It was pure, and more clear than any he had felt in recent years. How could a child taken by the Dark side and taught their ways have such a place in the Light, he wondered. However, he was not alone, the Force in the room rippled as his fellow Masters felt the very same thing. Ki-Tai picked up the rough drawing utensil given, watched her roll it in her hand before she looked up quickly: Mace Windu had started the test, the first image was on the screen only he and Yoda could see. First was a droid, and that was what she drew, her eyes wound shut as she scribbled away, getting each detail right. Next was a ship, but she drew the specific one rather than any old starship. Third, a speeder; fourth, a lightsaber; fifth, another ship, slightly different this time. All with the same result: Ki-Tai was no doubt Force-sensitive, but this was all formalities, Sifo-Dyas had recounted how she pushed him away with the Force. Offensive, but not with intent to hurt. Lastly, the image of their caretaker, the woman who had taken them to safety, appeared, and Yoda sent Windu a half-narrowed look. His old friend shrugged, but both turned back to Ki-Tai, who had stood, dropping the parchment. “Nika?” She said, and a soft, protective warmth rolled off the girl.  
If only the Padawan was still there, they would know what she meant: obviously, she knew it was the woman. Sifo-Dyas looked over Mace’s shoulder and nodded, “That is my contact, Yahgera, but the younglings called her ‘Nika’.”  
Mace Windu sighed and closed down the test, dropping the device in his lap before looking back at Yoda. “I definitely say she passed.”  
Indeed, the old Jedi thought, and despite where they had come from, not a single spot of fear or pain was in her now. Yoda smiled at how her light would lift the order, her and her brother were willed here by the Force, and no matter how clouded their path was, the grandmaster knew their paths would never stray from the light.


	4. Quiet Your Mind

Half a year had passed since Ki-Tai and Ki-Lan had joined the order as younglings, but they were already caught up with their peers, being trained by Master Yoda, Master Jocasta, and some of the Healers. Needing to learn Basic, the council set that task for Kit Fisto, seeing as he already had a familiarity with them, and the ever-smiling Padawan learner agreed. Though it would be a little while longer before they were fluent, they could understand most of what the Jedi said and were comfortable with being in the temple now, used to the different peoples, the Knights, the Guards, the Masters, and of course the pilots in the temple hangar and docking bay. It was quiet, but peaceful, unlike the fear that held in the air of their former Master’s compound. Now, they belonged to something that they didn’t really understand, but it was their life now, and it was a good life.

One night, Ki-Tai quietly climbed out of the youngling sleeping quarters, making sure to not disturb the others as she escaped down the hall, nearly tripping as she looked over her shoulder with a mischievous giggle. Some nights, when she couldn’t sleep and got tired of thinking of her parents, the youngling would go to the temple courtyards and watch the ships fly by on the planet that never sleeps. Normally, she got outside no problem, but that night, she felt a figure walking up the hall that turned into the one she was walking down. Peeking around the corner, she saw one of the temple guards, just walking, and the little girl walked out to meet them. She had never heard them say anything, or really do anything for that matter, so she waved shyly, suddenly aware that she was going to be sent right back to the younglings quarters. “Hi,” she started, before tripping over her feet and falling face first into the temple floor.

A hand grabbed her arm and picked her back up gently, making sure she didn’t fall again as the youngling straightened her tunic. The temple guard kneeled down to her level, “Youngling,” he said, “You should not be here, back to your quarters.”

Ki-Tai, however, had other ideas and smiled brightly -as if he could see it in the dark- and took off down the hallway, giggling to herself as she ran to the courtyard, faintly hearing the guard sigh to himself. As she got out underneath the stars, suddenly aware of the new presence of more temple guards outside. They were not usually out, so why now? They were further away, not in the upper courtyard, but the youngling didn’t take any chances and jumped up into the branches of the nearest tree. Barely containing laughter, the girl watched as the temple guard she had fallen in front of came out of the temple, frantically looking around for her. He looked down to the other levels, as if trying to see if the other guards had seen anything before he walked back, stopping suddenly underneath her tree. Before she gave him the chance to look up, Ki-Tai laughed, “Hi!”

The youngling jumped down next to the startled guard, beaming up at him as she sensed a little bit of amusement. At least he wasn’t completely annoyed like the soldiers on her home planet were. Tilting her head, she pointed at his mask and the hood he wore. “Are you a droid?” 

Of course, she wasn’t serious, he had emotions, but it was funny seeing one of the guards -normally silent and distant- laugh quietly. “No, youngling,” he knelt by her once more, “I am a Jedi, same as you.”

“Will I have to…” she frowned and muttered a bit in her native language, forgetting some of the words she was trying to say.

Her basic wasn’t perfect, but the guard got what she meant and shook his head. “No, only if you are chosen to be a guard, as we all were.”

For whatever reason, the guard pushed down his hood and took off the mask, placing it in her tiny hands, and she held it gently so she didn’t mess it up. “If you are chosen,” he said, and she turned her pale blue eyes to him, “Then you will wear this mask too, as part of your duty and purpose to protect these halls.”

The youngling nodded, then pointed slightly to his face. “You have markings just like me.”

For the short months she had been there, both her and her brother’s markings had begun to set in, earlier than any other Fae, but they were a nice light shade of purple, not as dark as they would eventually be. None of the others had natural markings besides them, and now it seemed one of the temple guards. His skin was white as chalk, but he had two dark grey lines underneath his eyes and other markings that curved over the top of his head. Sure, his yellow eyes were kind of freaky, but some Fae had them too. Faintly, he smiled, before putting his mask back on and pulling his hood up once more. “Now, come with me, youngling.”

She nodded and the guard led her back inside and to the younglings sleeping quarters. “Do not try and leave again,” he warned, but she sensed he was smiling behind that mask and just grinned. 

“Bye, Nika,” she whispered, seeing the way he slightly turned at the name.

The guards may seem scary, but Ki-tai found he wasn’t. After all, he had markings just like her.

A few weeks went by after that night, and of course Ki-Tai snuck out, the same guard sometimes catched her, but that never stopped her. As the younglings were leaving the sparring room to head to another one of Master Yoda’s lessons, the young girl sensed the same guard, saw him standing still with another guard on either side of the doorway. She lifted her hand to wave at him when the room suddenly started spinning, the sound of screaming in her ears. Ki-Tai fell to her knees, hands to her ears to try and block out the noise, but it was inside her skull, pulsing through her blood. Flashes of light passed through her mind, and the girl whimpered in pain at how they blinded her before she just shut her eyes, clenched tight. Now, with no other source of light or noise, she saw it: fire, several ships, people screaming. It was Coruscant, but she couldn’t be sure, her body flinched as the smell of smoke and blood -all too familiar- filled her head. “Calm, youngling,” a soothing voice shot through the chaos.

The images began to subside, and Ki-Tai opened her eyes, looking up at the fuzzy green figure in front of her. Two figures were kneeling by her side, hands on her shoulders, one…anxious she felt, but her senses were still painfully high, and she shut her eyes again, seeing the images all over again.

Ki-Lan stood just behind Master Yoda as his twin clutched at her head, her blue hair falling out of the braid it had been forced into. He could feel she was...not scared, but in pain and unprepared for what was happening. One of the guards had immediately run for Master Yoda, the other stayed by her side, making sure the other younglings stayed far enough back. Now, as the grandmaster tried to speak through to her, Ki-Lan heard her cry out in their language, muttering ‘stop’ over and over. Unable to stop himself, the boy called out to her, “Tai!”

He felt her pain fade away, until his twin lifted her head, markings glowing and darker than before. Pulsing light never stopped as they looked at one another, and Ki-Lan reached out in the Force, just as they had been instructed to as slaves to their former Master. His sister was shivering, not from cold, but from whatever had happened. “Youngling,” Master Yoda said, “what did you see?”

See? His sister had been closing off her senses, how could she have seen anything? “There was an explosion, Master,” she whispered.

Just as the words entered the air, something rocked the temple so violently that Ki-Lan heard stuff falling in the training hall. An explosion. The markings ceased their glowing and Ki-Tai fell limp, Master Yoda stopping the boy before he could run to his sister. “Send for Master Windu, youngling, meet us in the Healing hall, you shall.”

The boy looked between his sister and the grandmaster before he bowed quickly, running off to follow the orders of the master. 

He found Master Windu not too far off, walking with Masters Jocasta and Yaddle, and ran right up to him. “What is it, youngling? Did the explosion harm anyone?” he demanded, sensing the anxiety of the boy as he skidded to a stop.

“Master Yoda sent me to find you and bring you to the Healing halls,” he huffed, not waiting to see if the Master followed before starting to run there himself.

There was no time to explain, besides, that was exactly what Master Yoda had told him to say. Once at the doors, the Masters and youngling walked inside, arriving just in time to watch as the temple guards set his sister down onto one of the berths. Master Healer Vokara Che was there, tending to a somehow injured Kit Fisto before she darted over at the grandmaster's request. “Her mind is overwhelmed,” The healer announced, eyes wide as she looked back up at the Masters, “What has happened, I heard the explosion?”

A headache as powerful as the Force rocked Ki-Tai's mind as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking back the blinding light that burned like fire. Fire. The little girl jerked up, feeling strong hands hold her back, the slightly concerned face of a Jedi appeared above her, and her mind was slow to fill in memories, but she recognized Master Vokara Che, one of the Jedi healers. Turning her head, the youngling observed the gathering around the berth she was on: two guards, Masters Yoda, Windu, Jocasta, and her brother. Plus, she could see her friend Kit a few berths over. The girl cowered, mind still trying to pick up the pieces of where she was. “How did I get here?” she asked Ki-Lan in their language, unsure if she even remembered how to speak Basic.

Master Yoda held onto her brother, looking up at Ki-Tai with bright brown eyes. “Remember, not too long ago, do you Padawan?”

The youngling pressed a hand to her forehead, more images flashing, before her eyes widened. “There was an explosion,” she cried out, “speeders were on fire.”

“Saw this, before the explosion, you did.”

“How?” She asked, feeling a little cold despite herself.

"You had a premonition,” Vokara Che nodded in sudden realization.

Had she? No, the building had been shaking, maybe she hit her head on something. “You said explosion before the building shook,” Ki-Lan suddenly piped up.

They were twins after all. Ki-Tai frowned and finally sat upright, Master Che giving up on restraining her. “I don’t want anymore,” she declared.

Light laughter finally broke the tension and the youngling felt a bit better, as long as they didn’t happen anymore, she was good.

Much later in the night, long after the younglings had been sent to rest, and the Jedi knights returned from aiding the people of Coruscant after the reactor explosion from a couple sectors away, Yoda sat on his meditation pad in the dark. Too young, was little Ki-Tai to be having such a connection with the Force. Her physical abilities were the same as the others, but she was more in tune, and the grandmaster was not sure the course of action they needed. The door to the chamber hissed open and Mace Windu walked in, subtly greeting Yoda before sitting on a pad across from him. “Deep, the youngling’s connection is with the living force. Strangely deep.”

His old friend nodded. “We knew she would be when they were first brought here. Her brother is the same, but not quite so.”

Yoda nodded, yet found himself unable to continue their conversation. “Too strong, too young,” he finally acknowledged, gripping his gimer stick between his calloused fingers.

“Yes, she needs guidance.”

“Hmm.”

Master Windu wrung his hands in his lap and focused on the dim light coming through the windows of the meditation room. “No longer sure, I am, how to solve this," Yoda conceded.

“The solution is there, but we just don’t want to see it.”

Yoda looked up at Mace, ear twitching, but he knew he was right. “Not much longer, Ki-Tai, a youngling remain."

Another youngling to be thrusted into Padawan status perhaps too young.


	5. Gathering of Younglings

A group of six younglings sat opposite Master Yoda on the cold ice world of Ilum, escorted by Jedi Knight Shaak Ti. Ki-Tai and Ki-Lan had been in the order for just one year, but the Council thought they were ready for the gathering, a rite of passage for all younglings. It was where one received their lightsaber, but it also signified they were almost ready to become Padawans, a strange thought for the twins, but they didn’t mind so much: they were going to construct a lightsaber! Next to Ki-Tai sat a young human boy about their age, his name was Obi-Wan and the Jedi had brought him to the temple when he was still an infant. He was nice, funny, although very shy -like Ki-Lan. On his other side was another pair of Mikkian twins, Tiplar and Tiplee, they were a couple of years older and did not really talk to the other younglings. Lastly, was a Togruta, also about their age, named Naara that joined Ki-Tai, Ki-Lan, and Obi-Wan whenever they trained. She was especially happy about Shaak Ti escorting them, but they were all made to pay attention as the Grandmaster began speaking. “The Force, made physical, a Jedi is. Comes great responsibility with that, yes?” Yoda asked, ears twitching in anticipation of their response.

Each youngling nodded enthusiastically, bated breaths waiting for him to go on. “How does a Jedi protect others, hmm?”

Before any of them could respond, the grandmaster had already taken out his lightsaber and ignited it, twirling it in his hands for the younglings. “Build your lightsaber, you will,” he put it back into his cloak and sat upon his stone pedestal again,” but first, harvest your crystal, each of you must.” 

Ki-Tai smiled widely, this meant they were finally going to get to train with a real lightsaber rather than the training ones! “The heart of the lightsaber, the crystal is. Focuses the Force from the Jedi, it does.”

They had all heard that many times, and they knew their imprint on the crystal gave it its color. Briefly, the youngling wondered whether her and Ki-Lan would have the same color, or would they be different? Yoda held out his hands, closing his eyes briefly as he called upon the Force to open a mechanism at the top of the temple. Light from the star entered and reflected on a crystal at the top, which splintered into thousands of beams, one such beam of light melting the ice waterfall behind the grandmaster. The water caught in the elegant carvings in the temple, ushering it away from where they would be travelling through. “If Jedi, you are to become,” Yoda started, gesturing to the doorway now revealed from the lack of ice, “Enter the crystal cave, you must. Trust yourselves, trust each other, and succeed you will.”

The young Jedi shook her brother’s arm, excited as Shaak Ti ushered them to the entrance. “You will have until the light is gone to retrieve your crystal, after that, the ice will seal the doorway and trap you inside,” she explained and held out her hands, “So go!”

The younglings hurried inside, where they came upon a set of three doorways, splitting off into their own paths. “Where do we go?” Tiplee asked, peeking into each of the tunnels.

“Trust in the Force,” Tiplar laughed, “Point at where you are going.”

It made the most sense. Giving no one time to talk, each of the younglings closed their eyes and pointed in whatever direction the Force directed them. When Ki-Tai opened her eyes, she saw she was the only one that picked the center path: Ki-Lan and Obi-Wan had picked the left, and the twins and Naara had picked the right. Brother and Sister looked at each other with worried eyes, but the girl wasn’t afraid. They both knew the Order might split them up, but they were always together in the Force, so she nodded to her twin once more before walking down her path, the cold nipping at her skin even through her coat. She could feel warmth inside the ice temple, pulsing in the walls, but nothing called to her yet. Unfazed, the youngling kept walking until she heard what could only be one thing: the evil man’s laughter. “No,” she breathed, taking off running at the sound behind her.

How could he have gotten here? Maybe leaving Coruscant had been a mistake. The child ran until she came to a drop off, nothing but darkness below her. On the other side was the continuation of the tunnel, and the jump wasn’t too big. The girl prepped herself to jump as she saw the dark form of the man come around the corner. “You cannot hide,” he hissed, and the youngling jumped.

As she skidded to a stop on the other side, a flash of brilliance came to her. She stood, hands clenched as the figure watched her from the other side. Just as it jumped -like it was going to follow her- Ki-Tai pushed out her hands and directed them downwards, watching as the figure fell downwards into the dark abyss. Smiling, she turned around to head back on her journey, when the sneering smile of the man’s mouth, the only visible part she had ever seen, met her from under the darkness of his hood. He laughed and laughed and laughed as she stood, frozen: there wasn’t enough room to jump back over. All she could do was jump into the dark hole. “No,” she despaired, still hearing him behind her.

How had that not worked? Why was he suddenly there? Quieting her mind, the youngling stood straighter and examined the man, who was doing nothing but laughing at her expense. Carefully, she stepped closer, running her hands through him and the figure dissipated like smoke, watching in relief as warmth flooded her bones and all darkness vanished in the tunnel. Ki-Tai jumped up and down in happiness and continued on her way, watching in awe as the crystals came to life in the walls, glittering in the new light and brightening her way. When she got out into the open, all the crystals seemed to disappear in the darkness, replaced once more by a chilling wind. In the center was an opening of light, the ice ceiling high in the air, but it revealed a numbing truth: time was running out. Sunset was fast approaching and she had to get her crystal quickly. Then, a humming noise tore her eyes from the light to a ledge on one of the east walls. Something was glowing, like it was beckoning her. The girl ran over to the ledge and began to climb, ice melting under her warm touch. “There you are!” Ki-Tai’s eyes widened and she whipped her head around at her brother’s voice.

There, on the other side, was her brother, but he wasn’t alone. “Lan!” She screamed, but the man had already grabbed him.

Again, the evil man laughed, both hands gripping her brother’s arm as Ki-Lan tried to pull away. “Won’t you come and save him?” The man mocked, finally speaking, “He is your brother after all.”

Ki-Tai watched the light fade even more and began to climb, biting her lip to stop any tears from falling. “He isn’t real,” she whispered to herself, but the stabbing feeling inside didn’t go away, not until she made it to the top of the ledge.

There, lodged between a stalagmite and stalactite, held fragile just for her. Ki-Tai plucked it gently from the ice and held it tightly in her hand, feeling that warmth return to her. A quick look down revealed no one else was around, but the light was going quickly now, and Ki-Tai jumped down, using the Force to slow her fall as she tumbled onto the ice floor. Running faster than her breathing, the youngling followed the light from the crystal cave and back out the way she came, down the central path, past the intersecting room, and out the doorway, barely having to duck underneath the ice waterfall slowly freezing back. The cold nipping at her face, she smiled brightly at the other younglings, for it seemed she was the last one. Ki-Tai walked to them and held out her Kyber crystal, hearing its song in her mind once more. Master Yoda nodded approvingly and all the younglings were ushered out of the temple, back to the ship where Shaak Ti would take them back to Coruscant. The grandmaster took his own starship back, and Ki-Tai smiled briefly as she watched it rise from the ice below, before the Jedi Knight whisked her onto the waiting Jedi ship.

Later on, after they had gotten some rest, Shaak Ti had woken them all with the implied promise that they would be building their lightsabers, then corralled them onto a section of the ship that had previously been off-limits. To their surprise, a droid was waiting for them, one painted like it was for the Jedi Order only. “Younglings, this is the Jedi order’s lightsaber designer, Professor Huyang,” Shaak Ti gestures with a warm smile to the droid.

“It was not long ago you were on the Gathering either, Shaak Ti,” the droid quipped, prompting the Knight to shake her head in amusement.

That was where all jokes ended, as the droid began to break down the process of constructing a lightsaber, putting special emphasis on the patience they would need. “You must be one with the lightsaber, not simply put together light it is a blaster.”

They were lined up to begin the process of describing their lightsaber, and Ki-Tai was last, only able to watch as the droid picked out pieces and pieces of lightsaber parts before dumping temp into a container for the youngling that had described them. It really was an interesting conversation: the droid would ask vague questions after asking what the youngling felt, how the Force told them their lightsaber should be, and that was how their parts were chosen. When it was Ki-Tai’s turn, she described the cool feeling of metal, not heavy. “It has been some time since we had a Fae Jedi,” the droid started, “I wonder if you would be just like her?”

Whatever he meant by that, the youngling ignored as Professor Huyang continued on. “How do you feel the beam would be, going through your crystal?”

The girl concentrated on what the Force showed her, relaying the message back. “Soft, but un-unin,” she struggled with the word, “uninhibited.”

“Nothing fancy for you then, light weight, metal, let us see, what else?” then he turns his head to her, optics studying before heading back to another drawer, “Protector, yes, but that kind? No. Ah, I know.” 

The droid pulls out a body piece for the lightsaber and -instead of dumping it into her box- places it in her hands. It was simple, smooth, and made of light colored metal with a grip and a design in black. The design made that warmth inside her spread even more: it was the mark of the Jedi, the two wings on either side of a stylized lightsaber. The youngling smiled up at the droid, who promptly ushered her off to go construct. Claiming her spot next to her brother, who looked just as excited as she felt. Ki-Lan showed her his parts, “Professor Huyang said I would grow into it, looks a bit long doesn’t it?” He asked, and his sister fought back laughter.

His lightsaber looked like it was going to be longer than his arm! Also, it was made of different metal and had a couple more parts than her. “Look, Lan,” she said, showing him the symbol on hers.

“Yours looks a bit plain,” he points out, but Ki-Tai just shrugged.

She liked it: it was the lightsaber she was meant to have, not some fancy, way too long one. “How was your hunt for your crystal?” she asked as they began laying their parts out while Professor Huyang put a hologram of the instructions up for them.

Her brother frowned, his blue hair falling into his face as he looked down. “You saw the man,” she said, turning back to her own pieces.

He didn’t have to confirm, she felt it. Smiling, she pushed some of the warmth in the Force to him, knowing he would get it. Master Yoda said they had a special connection, since they were twins, and the girl vaguely wondered if Tiplar and Tiplee had that too. They were almost opposites, though, Ki-Tai mused to herself. Tiplar was funny and nice, Tiplee didn’t really like anyone else. Being shy was one thing, Tiplee was another. 

With the instructions set up, Ki-tai quieted her mind, closed her eyes, and focused on building her lightsaber with the Force. It was hard to be patient, but she heeded Professor Huyang and Shaak Ti, taking her time to ‘feel’ each piece, bond with it as she moved them into configuration.

The process took hours, with Shaak Ti stopping them halfway through to meditate and then practice with the training sabers. Then, in the second session, Ki-Tai felt ready to make her lightsaber whole, still stretching it out for a little longer so she could move them into position, then out again, before finally having everything click together. The youngling felt the lightsaber drop into her waiting hand and stared at it. It looked simple and new, but Ki-Tai wouldn’t want anything else, especially as she ran her hand over the symbol of the Jedi order. Confident, the youngling got up and rushed over to Professor Huyang to show him, watching the droid open it slightly and gaze at the emitter matrix. “Well done, youngling, your emitter matrix is in the right position, this is a well constructed lightsaber.”

Bowing gently, the girl was practically glowing at the praise, holding her lightsaber carefully in her hands after Huyang gave it back. “Well, youngling, show us,” Shaak Ti said, her arms crossed while a look of pride crossed her face.

Stepping back, the youngling held it out straight up and switched it on, grinning from ear to ear as the ignited blade covered them in a blue glow. Satisfied with her lightsaber, the youngling powered it off and beamed up at the droid and Knight. “Impressive, Ki-Tai, now sit with me while we wait for your class to finish theirs.”

Ki-Tai practically bounded over to the Knight, sitting cross-legged near her when her brother came up to them, a sheepish smile on his face. Professor Huyang inspected it, “Ahh, oh dear, your emitter matrix is inverted, go try again, follow the instructions closely, youngling.”

Ki-Lan walked away, dejected, when Naara replaced him, her light orange skin practically glowing in happiness. At least Ki-Tai wasn’t the only one excited about finishing her lightsaber. She too, had nothing wrong with it, and ignited it to reveal a lighter blue blade than her own. “We’re both blue,” Naara whispered as she sat beside Ki-Tai.

“I cannot wait to show the others,” she whispered.

Neither could she, especially Padawan Fisto and her guard friend. “When are you going to be taking the Initiate Trials?” Ki-Tai asked, hushed words so Shaak Ti wouldn’t be distrubed as she watched Professor Huyang inspect Tiplar’s lightsaber.

“I don’t know, but seeing as we are getting our lightsabers, it won’t be long before we all have Master’s.”

The Initiate Trials were a rite of passage for younglings to become Padawan learners. The Council would assign a Master to a youngling at the end, meditating to learn who would be best through the Force. They continued to discuss the end of their time as younglings when Ki-Lan finally came back up, the last one, but he was smiling again. This time, everything was correct, and her brother powered on his lightsaber, a deep green blade bathing them in light. The colors were different, but Ki-Tai no longer cared, the order wasn’t going to separate them, and she only found this solidified as Naara moved over so Ki-lan could sit next to her. Attachment was forbidden as a Jedi, but Ki-Tai knew she would choose the order over him -he would too- but they were stronger together than apart.


	6. The Initiate Trials

The night they returned to the temple, Ki-Tai snuck out once more, quite possibly for the last time, to go see her friend. He came around the corner just as she expected, jumping back in surprise at her sudden appearance. As per usual, she led him outside, but this time only so there would be light. “Look, Nika,” she smiled, holding out the new extension of her Force.  
Placing the lightsaber in his hands, the girl watched him nod in approval. “You will become a Padawan soon,” he stated, and her smile went away.  
No one said anything about her becoming a padawan, not yet. “Padawans are older,” she argued.  
The guard placed the lightsaber in her hands and held out his own, a double-bladed lightsaber. “A few months after I constructed my own, I became a Padawan.”  
Well, months was better, but she wasn’t sure she was ready, not really. Ki-Tai nodded, but she wasn’t really happy yet. She wasn’t happy as she laid down in her quarters, thinking over what her friend had said. It was the natural way of things to become a padawan, but they hadn’t been younglings that long, just under two years. So why the rush? The vision, her head hurt just in remembrance of the stupid vision she had right before the reactor exploded. That had to be it, but would they really be separating her and Ki-Lan? No, she realized: he had built his lightsaber too! They would have different Masters, sure, but he would be a padawan too. That, that was a bit better, although she still wasn’t sure she was ready. Only time would tell though, and for the moment, Ki-Tai would trust in the Force.   
Just then, she felt an awful feeling course through her body, something terrible was happening. The youngling sat up and walked out, following the Force’s guidance, it was telling her to move, and the guards were long gone, so she just carelessly teetered through. Her path led her to the gardens, where a familiar green figure was kneeling by one of the ponds, his breathing labored. “Kit?” She asked, seeing his head-tresses twitch in response.  
The little girl ran next to him, watching the so cheerful padawan stare at himself in the water’s reflection with such a gloomy look. She could feel his sadness, his pain, and sat by him, watching him with worried pale eyes. “Ki-Tai, it is late,” he started, as if to tell her to go back, but his words just trailed off.  
What had happened, she could only guess in concern as he sunk back into silence. “Kit are you okay?” She asked softly in their language.  
The padawan smiled sadly, putting one hand on her shoulder. “My Master is gone, Ki-Tai,” he whispered, hand slipping away as his face fell in sadness.  
Gone, as in dead? How could a Jedi die? “I am sorry, Kit,” she said, turning her head away.  
His master hadn’t been old either, so he had to have been killed, and Ki-Tai knew that was worse. Kit and his Master had been close; he was like a father. She knew how that felt, how it had actually felt when the evil man had cut down her parents. What happens to padawans who lose their masters though? Surely they don’t become younglings again. That wouldn’t make very much sense, so obviously not, but she wasn’t about to ask him, not while he was still upset. “One of the first lessons he taught me was right here. He had made me watch the water and the life in it until something died, how it was used to bring new life,” Kit smiles again, “Now I just think he could see the future.”  
That smarted, Ki-Tai hoped she would never see her death, or at least hoped she was never given the chance. “I will recover,” he promised, and she held his hand with her own, hoping he could see his friend was there for him.  
“My new Master is...not as poetic.”  
He was already given a new master. Wouldn’t it be harder to bond? “Who?” She asked.  
The Nautolan cast her a sideways smile, “Master Sifo-Dyas.”  
Sifo-Dyas was a strong Jedi, he had found Ki-Tai and Ki-Lan, but Kit was right: he didn’t really seem like a good fit. “I overheard the other Masters,” she smiled at his sheepish shrug, “okay maybe I was eavesdropping, but Sifo-Dyas was supposed to be your Master.”  
Really? The girl raised her eyebrows, was it because he had found her? “He’s your Master,” she spoke up.  
It didn’t really matter what was supposed to be, what ‘is’ has far more importance. The padawan shook his head and stood, helping the youngling up too. “Come on, I should get you back before we both get in trouble.”  
Listening to the Padawan, she went back to the other younglings and stayed there, feeling a bit better now that her friend wasn’t so sad, but it did fill her mind with questions, especially about how a Jedi died. 

Before dawn crept over the Coruscant sky, Ki-Tai felt something hard poke her forehead, her eyes springing open instantly. There was Master Yoda, jabbing her with his walking stick, her brother rubbing his eyes behind him. Why was the grandmaster waking them up, but none of the other younglings? He motioned for them to follow him, and follow they did, Ki-Tai braiding her hair quickly as they left the quarters. “Where are we going, Master?” She asked when they were down the hallway, turning out into the main temple.  
“Accelerated abilities, you two have. For a padawan, such a level is.”  
Oh no. “But, Master-” she was cut off by the grandmaster taping his stick on the ground sharply.  
“Trust in the Force, youngling. Through trials, revealed all will be.”  
The Initiate Trials. How could they be at this stage already? Heeding the words of Master Yoda, Ki-Tai kept her mouth shut and just followed, feeling the anxiety building up inside her brother as well. They were brought before the Council, something that had occurred not too long ago, and Yoda took his place with the other Masters. “Ready, the Council feels you are. Your trials, at dawn begin, trust the Force, and guided, you will be.”  
Both younglings cast each other a look before bowing to the council, and Ki-Tai was approached by Sifo-Dyas, while Ki-Lan was shown the way by Qui-Gon Jinn. Both of which weren’t on the council as far as she remembered, not yet at least, so why were they there? Sifo-Dyas led the way to a meditation room just outside of the council chambers, her brother was put in the one opposite her. Two temple guards entered -one of which her friend- and the master gave her a short smile. “I know, it hasn’t been very long since I brought you here, but the council is never wrong.”  
She could feel a bit of resentment in his words, but ignored it as he continued on. “Recite the Code to me, youngling.”  
“The Jedi Code: there is no emotion, there is peace,” she started without missing a beat.  
“There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force,” she finished just as strongly.  
This time, he gave her a full smile. “Very good, you have passed your first test,” when she grinned he added, “but the others are not so easy.”  
The master pointed at the meditation pad behind her. “You are to meditate in peace until I return, the temple guards will monitor you. As an added task, you must keep this,” he placed a metal sphere in front of her, “raised at your level with the Force.”  
Ki-Tai bowed her head and sat cross-legged on the pad, breathing in deeply before she willed the sphere to rise. Then, she let the Force wrap around her, feeling it within everything; she was already so deep in she did not notice Sifo-Dyas leave and the temple guards moved in front of the door. Through her connection, she could feel her brother was doing just the same across the hall before she retreated back to her own bubble.  
The time passed quickly, and only a gentle tug in the Force by the Master pulled her back out. As she opened her eyes, Master Sifo-Dyas plucked the sphere out of the air, smiling to himself while she watched him expectantly. “Need I say you passed?”  
Shaking her head, the girl beamed at him. “Now for your final test,” he motioned for her and the guards to leave the room, “I do not know how much harder it will be for you, but I cannot stress this enough: do not take this test lightly.”  
How could anyone take any of these tests lightly, she wondered, with the threat of going back to the other youngling as a failure or being forced to leave the Order. They entered the training room, and Sifo-Dyas took his place by Master Yoda and Master Windu. Where was Ki-Lan? A quick check in the Force revealed he was in another room, bored, like he was waiting. “Come forward, youngling,” Windu ordered, the girl following suit.  
The Master motioned for the temple guards to come as well. “You must last in a fight against these guards,” he explained.  
Ki-Tai tilted her head to the side as he finished talking. They wanted her to do what? “Why?” She asked, unsure of what they were trying to do.  
She was just a youngling, but not even a Padawan could take the temple guards on, much less two of them. Plus, there was no reason to fight, they were all just standing there. “I am sorry, youngling, what do you mean?”  
“I want to know why I have to fight them?” she asked, slightly indignant.  
“Refusing you are?” Yoda asked, tapping his stick again.  
The youngling furrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard about what she meant. The Force made it feel right so she spoke up again. “Yes, the temple guards are our protectors,” Ki-tai dropped her lightsaber, “I will not fight them.”  
Her head was pounding and the girl prepared to be told she was expelled from the order for her defiance, but then as the Masters exchanged looks, smiles broke out onto their faces. She felt her body nearly sag in relief, but she remained upright. “Long, has it been,” Yoda started, “Since, argued for peace, a youngling has.”  
Really? The girl fought back the question, biting down on her tongue to keep from talking. “Pick up your lightsaber, youngling, you have passed all of our tests and are worthy of wielding it.”  
She passed, Ki-Tai smiled as she put the lightsaber back at her side, once more forgetting how heavy it should be, but only knowing the light it held as part of her. However, her passing did mean she was going to become a Padawan, but who was her Master going to be, she wondered. Not Sifo-Dyas, that was for sure. “Guards,” Master Windu said with a small smile, “Take young Ki-Tai back to the council chambers, we shouldn’t be much longer.”  
Next was her brother’s turn, she could feel it. Inside the council room, Ki-Tai sat at the feet of the guards, just staring up at them and their imposing masks and double-bladed lightsaber. What had other younglings done? How many had actually tried to take on two fully fledged guards? There was no way she would have taken that path. From them, she sensed amusement followed by lingering surprise. It seemed that path was much less obvious to other younglings. Just then, the doors opened and the Council filed in, noticeably with the lack of Qui-Gon and Sifo-Dyas. Ki-lan sat beside her, excitement waving off of him. Seems he passed as well, not that she thought he wouldn’t. “Younglings, step forward,” Yoda ordered.  
The both did so, barely restraining from bolting to them outright. “Passed you have, our tests,” he continued.  
“As dictated by the council, you both are Padawan learners,” Mace Windu said, “Now, let us choose your Masters.”  
All her questions about how they choose were solved, as the Masters all closed their eyes, like they were going to meditate. “Ki-Lan Nati,” Master Windu started.  
“Your Master,” Yoda continued.  
“Is Vokara Che,” Master Jocasta finished.   
The healer? Ki-Tai smiled at her brother, who seemed very pleased at who he was being assigned to. “A healer, you are to be,” Yoda said with a small nod of his head.   
“Go now, a Knight outside will take you to your master.”  
With a short bow, Ki-Lan was gone, and suddenly it was just little Ki-Tai standing in front of all the Masters. Again, they closed their eyes, but this time, some seemed to contort their face, as if they had a problem concentrating.  
What did they see? She worried, but breathed in deep to let it go, trying to be calm so as not to disturb them. “Ki-Tai Nati,” Master Jocasta said.  
“Your master is,” Master Yaddle continued.  
Mace Windu opened his eyes and looked at Yoda with a sly smile, “Yoda.”  
What? All the other Masters looked surprised, but nodded: the Force wasn’t wrong. She looked between them all, then at her supposed Master, who seemed to nod. “The Force, chosen me again, it has,” he smiled.  
At least he didn’t seem opposed, but Ki-Tai vaguely wondered how this was actually going to work: he trained younglings. “Well, master, we will leave you alone with your Padawan,” Mace Windu seemed to tease, leading the train of Masters out of the Council.   
Will all of them gone, she could sense shock coming from the guards, but as always, they were silent and immobile. Just as statues witnessing the passing seasons. “Sit, sit,” Yoda urged, sitting cross-legged on the ground beside his new Padawan.   
If he could feel her anxiety, the grandmaster didn’t show it, and simply stared at her expectantly. “Why?” she asked.  
It wasn’t her place to question the Force, but her curiosity got the better of her. “Much, your question leaves open. Show you why, I will, through training you must go.”  
Yes, because that was very informative. Ki-Tai needed to know why, why she got to be the Grandmaster’s padawan when he hadn’t had one in ages. “Learn, you will,” Yoda said, although she got the distinct feeling he wasn’t just referring to training.  
“Yes, Master,” she said, bowing her head.  
She should be excited, right? The Padawan didn’t want to be special, though; didn’t want to have visions, become a Padawan at seven years of age, or be the grandmaster’s apprentice. Ki-Tai let out a small sigh before picking up her head to smile at the old Jedi: she couldn’t change anything now. “On and on, we must go.”  
Yes, the past is gone, and only the Force would take them forward. She just hoped it didn’t have any more surprises in store.


	7. Late Night Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a short summary at the end if you don't want to read this one

Two years passed as Ki-Tai and Ki-Lan fell into their dictated roles as Padawans. Her brother became adept at healing, even mending his sister’s wounds from time to time, but she couldn’t say the same. The Fae tried, but she wasn’t as strong as or as good as the other Padawans, even Obi-Wan, who was her age and had been a Padawan for just as long. “Maybe it’s different for you,” he told her one evening, “You have a deeper connection to the Force than I could ever dream of.”  
They sat outside in the temple gardens, looking over as her Master trained some new younglings. It had been two years since she became a padawan, but Ki-Tai wasn’t much better than the younglings before them. Her master was patient, understanding, but she knew he had hoped for much better by now. “How come Master Yoda is so advanced?” She shot back, “He is more attuned with the Force than any Jedi.”  
“Yes,” Obi-Wan smiled while shaking his head, “Wise Master Yoda is also 900 years old.”  
“I am not going to live that long,” she despaired.  
Just then, her Master walked up, leaning against his gimer stick while the two Padawans straightened up considerably. “Place to be, you have Padawan Kenobi?”  
Her friend stammered out some excuse, rising so quickly his padawan braid whacked him in the face, causing all the younglings behind Yoda to giggle. The red-faced padawan retreated back inside and Ki-Tai bowed to her master. “Dulon, younglings need to see,” he started, ears twitching in a way she knew meant he was trying to make her feel better, “a master they need.”  
Oh yes, she was a master at basic moves because of all the times she had to practice them “Yes, master,” she said, lowering her head a bit before standing in front of the new children.  
Among them now was another Fae, making that three, as another had been brought two months ago, a light blue-haired female with striking grey eyes named Sei-La Ceias. Coincidentally, she had not been on Liathil: her parents had left the homeworld when they found out their unborn child was going to be Force-sensitive, wanting her to join the Jedi rather than be groomed to become a soldier in the Fae army. Now, the young girl looked up at the only female of her race in awe, and Ki-Tai felt a little bit better. As long as someone was happy she was showing them her forms. “May I borrow your training lightsaber, master?” she asked her Master, to which he graciously handed it over.  
The real lightsaber was too much for practice, accidents could happen and she’d rather not be the one to cause them. “Mimic me, younglings,” she spoke gently, “get in Ataru Guard stance.”  
By the age the new class was, they knew all the ready stances and followed her as she put her dominant left foot back while she held the ignited lightsaber vertically by her midsection. Once all of them had copied her with their own dominant stance, there they held it until all the younglings looked comfortable. “Now, let us practice this motion, watch me: take the blade from vertical, and tilt it a quarter of the way down.”  
They moved it to the new angled position, and Ki-tai made them do it all again, starting from the ready stance. “Faster,” she urged once they all got the positioning correct.  
With all the younglings finally at the speed needed to begin, she prepped the next step. “You will need all that speed to turn into power through the next motion,” she explained, “Now practice slashing from the angle.”  
Eventually, she had them put the whole sequence together and they were slashing with the power needed in no time. “And that, younglings, is the Dulon maneuver.”  
“Dulon master, you truly are,” Yoda praised, but his Padawan didn’t feel it through their bond.  
Maybe because she was closed off, but still, his words did not help her. “Now, you have eight more masters, Master,” Ki-Tai smiled bitterly.  
The green Jedi tapped his stick somewhat harshly, as the younglings all snapped their attention back on him. “Best, you are not, but better, you are, to many.”  
Yes, she was still learning, but Ki-Tai knew what level she was supposed to be at by this point and she wasn’t at it. “Yes, master,” the girl breathed, bowing her head and letting him return to instructing the younglings before she retreated to the other side of the temple, the courtyard, although empty, felt less lonely than the gardens.   
Her Master felt her leave, and his Padawan felt the disapproval, but made no move to stop her. There, she sat under one of the trees, the one she had such a close relationship to now, and meditated, searching for a solution. Then, almost like a hit on the head, it found her. “Padawan,” she heard the familiar formality of her Master’s former apprentice.  
Turning around, the Padawan bowed politely to Dooku, a Jedi Master -although not a council member- as he stared at her expectantly. “Hello master,” she greeted.  
He nodded to her. “I can sense your troubles,” he warned, a glimmer in his eyes, “will you accept a bit of advice?”  
The girl blinked, how could she refuse? “Yes, please,” Ki-Tai said.  
Anything could help: she really couldn’t get much worse. “The temple training room is open always, the temple guards won’t mind if you train in there at night. I recommend this. I know how hard it is to improve with this pressure on you. Train, get better with no one watching and you will make our Master...pleased.”  
Through the Force, and the bond they both shared with Yoda, she knew he was speaking from experience and bowed again. “Thank you, master.”  
Just as quick as he came, he was gone, going off to meet his friend Sifo-Dyas, who gave the Padawan a small wave before she turned away to return to her master. At least now she had something to try.

Late at night, the Padawan snuck out of her quarters and down the winding halls of the temple to the training room, puzzled at first by the sounds of fighting inside. When she walked in, two Jedi were sparring -but with their actual lightsabers. Dooku and Sif-Dyas, joking as they fought, had not noticed her, and the young Padawan gave her temple guard friend a wave, the Jedi tilting his head but otherwise not acknowledging her. She understood: he had a duty. It was okay for them to speak when alone, but he had to focus on other things and stay alert. Taking a seat on the edge of the room, enough away so they didn’t notice her, but not too far that she was disturbing the guards. As Sifo-Dyas conducted a move that Ki-Tai briefly recognized as ‘Falling Leaf’, a kind of jumping aerial attack, the Master pushed Dooku down, successfully subduing him with his lightsaber pointed at his neck. “I win again, you’re getting old, my friend.”  
“No older than you, I just look it,” Dooku laughed, accepting his friend’s hand to get up.  
Then, Sifo-Dyas’ eyes caught sight of the Padawan at the edge of the room, his eyes narrowing at Dooku. “Meddler,” he admonished, prompting Dooku to smile at Ki-Tai.  
“I am not the one who meddled with what should have been,” he rebuffs, picking up his lightsaber and fixing his robes, “Have a wonderful night, Master.”  
With the other gone, Sifo-Dyas looks at the Padawan watching, slightly wide-eyed. What had Dooku done, and what did he mean by meddling? “Is this what that old fool had been speaking to you about earlier?” He asked, very unimpressed with his ‘friend’.  
“That,” he stopped himself with a smile, “Dooku wouldn’t tell me, I suspected, but oh well.”  
“I cannot teach you, Padawan, that is up to your Master.”  
At her slightly crestfallen nod, the Master clenched and unclenched his fists, “but I can help you improve.”  
Surprised, Ki-Tai stared up at him, waiting for, but not really expecting, help. “Really? I’m kind of hopeless,” she admitted.  
Sifo-Dyas motioned to one of the benches in front of him, and the Padawan sat, still focusing on the Master. “I knew this was going to happen, Ki-Tai, I knew it from the moment they chose me to finish Kit’s training. Now,” he held up one hand, “Fisto is the best Padawan I could have ever asked for, skillful and patient -although a heavy portion of optimism and will doesn’t hurt. The past is past, and he is my padawan; I am content. Yet, when the Masters had meditated on who should finish his training, another council member revealed to me later that it was Yoda who should have done it. Instead, they chose me, for no other reason then I needed the experience. It had already been revealed that your brother was to be Vokara Che’s padawan, and you-”  
“I was supposed to be your Padawan, I know,” Ki-Tai piped up, “Kit already told me before I even became a Padawan.”  
Sifo-Dyas put his hands down, “oh.”  
She resisted the urge to smile, instead focusing on his earlier words. “What did you mean by ‘you knew this would happen’” She asked.  
The Master ignited his lightsaber and spun it in his hands. “Master Yoda is the Grandmaster, and for good reason, but you are just like me. I had the Force visions when I was a youngling, age has diminished them greatly,” he nods to himself, “and my habit of ignoring them, but that is besides the point. Your connection to the Force is strong, your fighting form has to match that, and Master Yoda’s own form is Soresu, am I correct? Making you mimic his form?”  
The girl grimaced: he knew he was right. Soresu was the worst of all the forms -at least to her. “Yes,” she affirmed in a small voice.  
His face seems to pity her. “Soresu is good when defense is necessary, but you cannot hope to win just by being defensive, nor just by being offensive -don’t let Qui-Gon teach you anything!”  
At that, Ki-Tai couldn’t help but giggle: master Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan’s master, was a very...questionable Jedi, at least in methods. How Obi-Wan got placed with him was beyond her imagination. “Your form needs to match your own connection with the Force, but defense is not for you, Padawan. While it is admirable you want to mimic your master, you need to choose your own form. Master Yoda is a master in all, so he can improve where he sees fit, but you need to give up Soresu.”  
Hesitantly, the Padawan nodded: anything to show her Master she was competent and not completely useless. Sifo-Dyas paced around for a bit before he spun back to her. “I know, how much Makashi do you know?”  
Makashi? Master Yoda had rarely ever let her practice that, saying she wasn’t ready for some of its advanced maneuvers. “The Grandmaster doesn’t think I’m ready,” Ki-Tai explained.  
“Right, and you are not, but the most basic moves are leagues better than even the best Soresu has to offer.”  
She was sure that was highly opinionated, but didn’t argue and stood as he motioned her to do. However, he didn’t give her a training lightsaber, nor did he pick up one. Surely, she wasn’t going to learn with her actual one, right? It seemed so, as master Sifo-Dyas ignited his lightsaber. “Makashi is an advanced form, with all the footwork and techniques required, but it is fluid and requires a strong center in the Force. It won’t deflect blaster fire, but that is what Shien, another one you can improve in, is for.”  
Now Shien she had practice in, but everyone could do Shien. “Focus, Padawan,” Master Sifo-Dyas said, “Center yourself in the Force.”  
Ki-Tai breathed in deeply and did as he said, ignited her lightsaber when ready and adopting the first ready stance, same as she had shown the younglings before.

Master Yoda watched from the doorway as Sifo-Dyas taught his apprentice the footwork and balance needed for Makashi. Interesting, it was to him that Sifo-Dyas believed Dooku would go behind his former Master for a Padawan. The guards would look at him every now and then, their minds wondering about what was going on, but the Grandmaster sat pleased. It had been a long time since he had an apprentice, and he had somehow forgotten how to make them unique, to make them not blindly follow. Ki-Tai was not weak by any means, but she had a lot to learn before she became skillful enough to take on missions. One of those was finding her own path. Meddled with her path, Yoda had indeed, but discussed for long hours with his old friend and former apprentice Windu he had. Sifo-Dyas -and Dooku for that matter- were too set in their ways to teach a pliable apprentice. Fisto had already learned so much, all Sifo-Dyas was doing was streamlining him, not really teaching anything new. Now, with Sifo-Dyas having done the hard lifting by making her change her primary form, Yoda could step in and begin instructing her now that she was open to the changes. Of course, it would be after a few lessons with Sifo-Dyas, but no more. His views were...too much for such a young Padawan. Still, Yoda watched in approval as his Padawan took to Makashi quickly. Though, he was still going to make her master Shien first: she couldn’t get out of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tl;dr:   
> Ki-Tai sucks at lightsaber training bc she's stuck in one form trying to mimic Yoda. Dooku intervenes and has her meet Sifo-Dyas in the dojo at night to train her in a new form. Sifo-Dyas also explains that he was supposed to be her master, but Yoda said no when the other council members felt it through the force. Sifo_Dyas trains her in Makashi. Yoda is watching, he set it all up so she would listen to someone else besides him that she had to change her form.


End file.
